So, I got these three skeins of Lion Brand Cotton (about 220 yards each) as a CLBFX package from Joanne. Since it was in natural colour, any dishcloths I work up will not be too dashing, obviously. So I hit upon the brilliant idea of making myself that top I’ve been promising myself for ages now.

I also happened to win a bunch of crochet magazines and pattern books in a Crochet Partners recycling contest, and one of them was the June 1989 issue of Magic Crochet, that had a nice top pattern.

This was my first time working with a pattern from Magic Crochet and I’m impressed at the amount of instructions they fit into 2 pages. This included a full view photo of the finished object, introductory written instructions, a schematic for the entire garment, a symbol chart for the pattern and a symbol legend as well. Wow.

In addition, the pattern was fairly easy to grasp and do and worked up quite quickly. So I went as far as this:

That’s quite far, wouldn’t you say? The cotton is soft and the pattern easy. B U T. The yarn doesn’t have a sheen (naturally) and I have a feeling it will be too heavy. I always feel crocheted wearables will be too heavy. So I am going to frog this. Perhaps I have miles of vanilla-coloured dishclothes ahead of me. Whatever.

Here’s a close up of the pattern. Very nice.

So I went to cheer myself up at my usual haunt (the thread wholesaler) and came home with six balls of this for Rs 330:

Nice, no? This is “knitting cotton” by Madura Coats, a nice mercerised cotton thread which is about size 10 or bedspread weight, I think. I hope it will be enough for a top for me. I am trying to make up my own pattern and am starting from the sleeve. This is how far I have come:

As you can see, I am borrowing the crossed dc pattern from the Magic Crochet design. But perhaps not the bobbles. They might look like pilling. Let’s see how far I get with this one.

I don’t usually show “in-progress” pictures of my work. There’s always a first time, right?

ETA: Deneen pointed me in the direction of Bron’s blog, where Bron has courageously ;)come out and said it out loud: crochet wearables are usually can be heavy and bulky! As Cordelia and I were describing it a few weeks ago, it is like chain mail!

The buzz in knitting circles in recent weeks has been about the new interchangeable needles introduced by Knitpicks. While I was trolling the Web for info on which brand to choose, all the fora (forums) were agog with these needles, metal rather than the resin of the Denise set that I finally decided to ask for (a friend has promised me she’s getting them for me). I found a review today and guess what! The metal parts are Made in India. That’s really good. Despite knowing they will never be sold here, I can still feel happy someone in India is making something for themselves. Really. More power to them.
Although these are cheaper than the Boye Needlemaster, I still find them expensive (you try multiplying something by 47 especially when it’s “just a hobby”). I didn’t want the Boye because I’m not particularly fond of their metal crochet hooks. I find them heavy, the colours garish and the finishing is a bit odd (they have ridges on the backs).

Pony hooks might be bland, but I like them. They have a smooth finish and they’re not nearly as heavy as the Boyes.

Now I just have to sit on my hands and wait till I get the Denises. I sincerely hope they’re worth the expense (they must be in $$, but Rs?)

Next, Karla sent me a whole bunch of crochet/knit/other craft patterns. The picture I took of those was too blurry, sorry! But there was also a cute knitting-themed greeting card with a sweet message from Karla inside, and a bookmark.

I went booksaling (new word!) today and turned the place upside down looking for crafty books. And I was well rewarded with this (Rs 75):

Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Wasn’t that a lucky find?! I hope to be putting some of the techniques into use in a few weeks’ time. This is the original 1971 edition. There’s a slight tear on the dustcover, but I shall apply tape. I understand it is a bit of a classic.

I also found this book on needlepoint/plastic canvas (Rs 150). It’s been a long time since I learnt a new craft.

Needlepoint on Plastic Canvas by Elisabeth Brenner De Nitto. This must be the cover, because my copy is missing its dust jacket. Hopefully I’ll have fun. I have a pack of A4-sized sheets of plastic canvas hidden in a cupboard. I resisted buying a book on Macrame. I was strong.

In non crafty buys, I got a couple of books with cats in them. The sale was purportedly of surplus books from US libraries. I had a nice haul last year. The man promised to look up more books for me and asked me to go in next week. I am not that hopeful actually.